artsy-crafty babetag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-3251072017-05-14T22:00:59-05:00A mom who likes to make things.TypePadtypepad/cDvnhttps://feedburner.google.comOh Happy Daytag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451e33c69e201bb099a9e97970d2017-05-14T22:00:59-05:002017-05-14T21:59:45-05:00Hello there! Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there and happy 42nd birthday to me :-) I couldn't think of a better way to break my bog silence than on my birthday. I sure do miss all of...beki

Hello there! Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there and happy 42nd birthday to me :-) I couldn't think of a better way to break my bog silence than on my birthday. I sure do miss all of this, but wonder how in the world I ever found the time to make this a regular thing. It's all a matter of priorities, I suppose.

Life is good! My kids are growing like crazy. It's hard to believe that my oldest will be in college in a few years and my youngest is starting kindergarten in the fall. Lily gets her license in a few weeks, which I know will be a game changer. I'm trying my hardest to appreciate and enjoy the now because the next phase is right around the corner (it always is!), and I'm sure it will be just as lovely. If I had to choose a word to describe my life right now, it would be delicious. I love that word.

If I took the time to document all that I've been making I would have no shortage of content for the blog. The making never stops around here. And I'm so predictable. Every spring I get the urge to feather my nest and make dresses. So far I've finished my second sofa slipcover, made new curtains for my dining room, painted doors, and made an outdoor dining table. If you follow on instagram then you've seen these projects. I never did post pics of my dresses because taking pictures of the clothes I make is awkward, always has been. I've made 4 dresses with more planned. My goal is to make the perfect dress pattern for myself that I can change up with the sleeves and neckline, and I think I've got it. I'm in love with easy t-shirt style knit dresses. I've also discovered pettipants, (should I have shared that with the internet? haha!) which make the dress wearing even more comfy (bye-bye sweaty chafed thighs!). Next dress I make I'll show and tell, I promise!!

It's been a long, full weekend and I have bunches more to talk about, but I'll save that for another post!

http://www.rebekalambert.com/artsycrafty_babe/2017/05/happy-day.html#dailyfabricplaytag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451e33c69e201b7c85ecb1f970b2016-05-20T18:56:03-05:002016-05-20T18:54:53-05:00When I left y'all hanging in fall of 2015, I told you that I was challenging myself to daily fabric play. I did it for a while, but never made it the full 30 days. It was fun! I ended...beki

When I left y'all hanging in fall of 2015, I told you that I was challenging myself to daily fabric play. I did it for a while, but never made it the full 30 days. It was fun! I ended up stopping because that 15 minutes I originally committed to turned into hours. I couldn't keep up. Somehow I felt like I had to finish something at each sitting, and eventually it became too much. Silly, I know. I'm very good at making things complicated for myself.

After a few sessions I gravitated towards flowers and stayed there. Yes, I do love flowers. I think my plan was to make several flowers, then applique them all together in a vase, or something like that. That idea is still percolating, but I may need to make some more flowers to get back in the groove with those.

These day lilies and that gardenia are my favorites.

I had forgotten about that challenge until I recently, when I decided to make my friend's house out of fabric. Houses are another of my favorite subjects. Ohmygosh, that was even more fun than the flowers!! This one I'm turning into a little mini quilt suitable for framing, kind of like this (<-- how was that 1.5 years ago???).

I'm not really sure what to say about these other than I love making them. I've dabbled in many crafty things, but I always go back to fabric. I'm finally embracing that and the ideas are flowing. So exciting!!

http://www.rebekalambert.com/artsycrafty_babe/2016/05/dailyfabricplay.htmlI miss thistag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451e33c69e201b8d1e88213970c2016-05-18T17:36:00-05:002016-05-18T10:37:47-05:00Reason #239 why i miss blogging: here are 2 years of summer knits that need to be blocked & sewn together. I have no blog documentation of what patterns I was knitting or with what!!! I remember the blue pattern,...beki

A photo posted by Rebeka Lambert (@artsycraftybabe) on May 16, 2016 at 7:30pm PDT

I posted this picture on instagram the other nigh and haven't been able to stop thinking about it. No, not the knitting (ha ha), but the lack of documentation. This used to be the place where I documented all the stuff I made. I still make stuff, and I occasionally snap a picture of it for IG, but there's not much content, no details. Chalk it up to being old, but I can't stand writing lots of words on IG. I like big screens! I like words! I like details! I like links I can click! But IG on my phone is so eeeeasy. This blogging stuff, not so much.

So, for the sake of documentation, here's the info on those knits. The blue one was knit 2 summers ago. It's Jordan by Knit and Tonic. I used Fibra Natura Flax in mineral. I did a good bit of knitting in the car on that one while we drove to Disney. I'll always associate it with Disney. I sure hope it fits once I block it and seam it up!

The gray one is Sultry Boatneck knit in DROPS Bomull-Lin. I made this one last summer. It came together so quickly that I don't have many memories of what I was doing when I made it. Do y'all do that? I tend to attach memories to what I was making at the time.

I really do love using a linen yarn for summer knits. And the lacy patterns usually knit up so quickly! As you can see, I'm very much a creature of habit. The reason these knits popped into my mind is because I was getting the urge to start a new summer knit. But really, these two MUST be finished before I can move on. I have a pair of wide leg linen pants that both of these would be perfect with.

Next on my agenda are summer dresses (creature of habit, remember!). I have the Colfax Dress pattern printed and ready for muslin testing, and I finally ordered the Painted Portrait (yeah, reeeal late to the game on that one!). It's been so long since I've sewn clothing for myself, I'm a little nervous. Shoot, I can't even decide on what fabric to use right now! I'll get it together, eventually.

http://www.rebekalambert.com/artsycrafty_babe/2016/05/i-miss-this.htmldaily fabric play challengetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451e33c69e201b8d163323f970c2015-10-05T22:11:42-05:002015-10-05T17:57:56-05:00All last week I was looking forward to Saturday because I had nothing planned. No baseball, no soccer, no dance, no kid activities whatsoever. There was no excuse to keep me from making something. Anything. I tried, but it wasn’t...beki

All last week I was looking forward to Saturday because I had nothing planned. No baseball, no soccer, no dance, no kid activities whatsoever. There was no excuse to keep me from making something. Anything.

I tried, but it wasn’t happening. I pulled out my big basket of scraps, looked at them for a bit, then put them away and took a nap. I never pulled them out again.

I went to bed Saturday night feeling frustrated that I didn’t use my time how I wanted.

Sunday was much of the same, but it was the chores that I didn’t do on Saturday that got in the way.

All this got me thinking about priority and how I really haven’t made making much of a priority these last few years. Sure, I still make stuff, but only when I’m able to squeeze it in. This arrangement has worked for a while, but I’m ready to make my creativity a priority. A totally selfish creative indulgent priority.

On Labor Day I had a few minutes to play with fabric which resulted in some textile oysters. That was so much fun! This is the kind of making I miss. Playing. No agenda other than to see what happens.

For the next 30 days I am committing to playing with fabric everyday for at least 15 minutes. I hope it ends up being longer than 15 minutes, but I know that on busy days 15 minutes is realistic. Every day, y’all!

I’m challenging myself to get my creative juices flowing, and just PLAY. My plan is to use my basket of scraps. Some days I may mindlessly sew pieces together, or I may have a specific end result in mind. It doesn’t really matter. The point is to just DO IT.

I’m excited to see where this leads. I’ll be sharing what I make every day on Instagram (#dailyfabricplay) with a weekly(ish) recap here on the blog.

Okay, here I go!!

(and I'm going to pretend like it hasn't been 8 months since I last posted here ;-))

http://www.rebekalambert.com/artsycrafty_babe/2015/10/daily-fabric-play-challenge.htmlhey there!tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451e33c69e201b7c74c1190970b2015-02-12T21:59:32-06:002015-02-12T22:07:24-06:00Happy 2015!?! Yeah, I'm a little late. I have no excuse, other than living. I have no project's to share. I can't even recall that last time I touched a sewing machine or needle and thread. There's been lots of...beki

Happy 2015!?! Yeah, I'm a little late. I have no excuse, other than living.

I have no project's to share.

I can't even recall that last time I touched a sewing machine or needle and thread.

There's been lots of cooking (I could do a whole post+ about how I've changed my eating and feel fantastic!), some knitting and bits of doodling.

I'm happy to report that after a long drought, I'm feeling creative again, all thanks to doodling. I started the new year with a new sketchbook and a desire to experiment with watercolors. I tried, but I wasn't feeling it. Then I rediscovered my Scribble Diary. I LOVE my Scribble Diary! I'm not sure if I ever blogged about it, but I got it 3 years ago...and it's BRILLIANT. There's no blank page syndrome. There are guidelines, which I like... and it's journaling!

I use it by randomly opening a page, then filling it out. Sometimes the prompts work for me, sometimes not. If they don't, I simply scratch it out :-) Sometimes I draw flowers or hearts in the empty spaces. Whatever. It's fun!!

And then I color it. More fun!! I treated myself to "nice"colored pencils (not the cheapest set in the store, but certainly not the top of the line), quality does make a difference! My goal is to fill the entire journal by the end of the year. I think I can do that.

Since turning on my scribble faucet, I am feeling the flow. More than once I've felt the urge to pull out some scraps to start sewing. I feel a quilt coming on.

The lesson I've learned from this is sometimes you've just got to do it - make that first step...you never know where it will take you!